Greater New Orleans

Newly decorated Eagle Scout Folsom resident Garret Grass is pictured here with his parents, Wanda and David Grass, at a special reception in honor of his newly achieve rank in the Boy Scouts of America.

Folsom resident 15-year-old Garret Grass is a very busy, goal-oriented young man. As a St. Paul High School sophomore, he plays the saxophone in the St. Paul’s Marching Wolves, handles the morning announcements, works the technical lighting board for the theatre department and is a member of the Junior ROTC.

Grass is also a Boy Scout in Troop 160 of the Bogue Tuchenna District, Istrouma Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, who recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was recognized for his achievement at a very special ceremony held at the chapel on the St. Paul school campus. The event was officiated by St. Paul’s principal Brother Raymond Bulliard.

Grass was one of five members of Troop 160 who received their Eagle rank at this event. The other scouts who were also honored were Chase Cochran, Matthew Melancon, Ryan Meraux and Joseph Monahan.

To earn this prestigious award which is the highest rank achievable in Boy Scouts, a scout must progress through five levels of scout ranks from Tenderfoot through Life before tackling the requirements to become an Eagle Scout. Each rank provides opportunities to build upon what they previously learned.

Eagle Scout candidates must also serve in a troop leadership position for at least six months, plan, develop and provide leadership for a service project to any school, community or religious organization, participate in a Scoutmaster conference and complete the Eagle Scout Board of Review.

A 2010 study by Baylor University found that young men who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout are more likely to have higher levels of planning and preparation skills, they are highly goal-oriented, network easily, serve in leadership capacities at work, have closer relationships with family and friends, preform volunteer services and provide charitable donations on a regular basis.

According to Bob Monahan, Scoutmaster for Troop 160, while the whole Boy Scout program is designed to prepare each scout to achieve the rank of Eagle, achieving this ultimate goal requires a lot of individual responsibility and a ton of paperwork.

“We try to teach the boys life skills like swimming, how to save lives, provide first aid and how to get along with others,” Monahan said. “Plus they have to be responsible for their uniform and paperwork which primarily helps them keep track of the merit badges they earn.”

However, tackling the lengthy and challenging path toward Eagle Scout also includes the need to be active in the troop, assume a leadership position in the troop and have the perseverance to continue toward their goal with all the distractions of school, family and friends.

“What makes Garret stand out is that he really likes scouting, the whole program, and he has always embraced the process of working toward his goal,” Monahan said. “That’s what scouting is all about; a lot of guys don’t like to go to camp or do the extra work it takes to complete the process but Garret embraced camp and eagerly chose leadership positions at both camp and troop meetings.”

Although Monahan believes that deep down Grass really wanted to achieve the Eagle Scout rank, he knows that parents Wanda and David Grass were 100 percent behind Garret and nudging him along to success.

“Each Scout can select their project and Garret chose a pretty ambitious project which was painting and making repairs at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Folsom which is where he attends church,” Monahan said. “This was a good size project and not something he chose just to get it done.”

“It was obvious he felt connected to the church which is important and he involved a lot of people which was also an important part of the project.”

As an altar server at the church for the last six years, Grass has indeed developed a connection to the church and Rev. Timothy J. Burnett, OSB.

“I had been thinking about a few different projects I could do like building nature trails and benches but I asked Father Timothy if there was anything I could do to help out the church,” Garret Grass said. “We walked around and looked at what needed to be done and he showed me a few areas that needed attention that could be accomplished within a day or two.”

According to Grass, the project had to be something that could be completed over a weekend and he wanted to have the project scheduled on a Saturday before school ended in May.

Grass decided on combining three different projects all of which contributed to the betterment of the church.

The first phase of the project included sanding and painting handrails at the church after hammering down protruding nails.

The second phase involved taking brooms to brush off about 250 feet of fencing around the church property followed by sanding the top rail and posts before putting two and at some points three coats of paint on the entire fence.

The team of about 15 volunteers also pulled weeds along the fence line improving the overall appearance 100 percent.

The third phase of the project included striping the church parking lot which was overseen by adult team members.

“We were all exhausted at the end of a long day which began about 9 a.m.,” Grass said. “But everything looked great and my father I went back a week or so later to add one last coat of paint to the fence.”

Planning and preparing was a major element of the project which included completion of a workbook on the preparation to show in detail the project, how it would be accomplished, the materials list, what donations would be secured from friends, family, retail establishments and other sources plus lunch that would be provided for all the volunteers.

“It has been a long process getting to this point in my Scouting experience but I really wanted the Eagle, my patch and medal,” he said. “The project did teach me some valuable life lessons and some things about the world I didn’t know.”

According to his father, David Grass, part of the project included talking to business owners and managers to secure donations and/or discounts on items that had to be purchased.

“I was very proud of him,” David Grass said. “He exhibited good leadership and he had to promote this project then take charge when everyone came together to do the work that needed to be done.”

David Grass added that his son took the time to explain to the volunteers to wear protective glasses to avoid getting paint in their eyes and to keep an eye out for traffic along the road and in the church parking lot where they were working.

“He had to divide the volunteers into a number of work groups and he managed the work by checking up on their progress as he worked on the project himself,” David Grass said. “He was the one in charge and that is a big component of the Eagle project; not just doing a project but being a leader and seeing the project to completion.”

David Grass added that this project gave Garret the opportunity to develop leadership skills in many ways including being able to express himself in front of people of various ages and explaining himself to adults at their level.

“I am very proud of Garret and what he accomplished,” he said.

Garret Grass has been working toward this goal since he moved up from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts when he was in fifth grade.

“I set my goal and knew I wanted to complete the Eagle,” he said. “Attending summer camp each year was a big help since there were many opportunities to earn merit badges.”

Garret (Grass) was very good at achieving his goals, taking time to enjoy a free period at camp the first year but taking every advantage at earning merit badges over the last three years of summer camp.

“The last badge I earned was cooking where I had to cook three meals over the course of the week,” he said. “I chose that one to get a real world experience because I had to cook for a class of 20 guys.”

“One of the hardest badges to earn was Citizenship in the World because our teacher wanted a lot out of us but it really made me think about the topic,” he said.

Garret (Grass) found talking to others who had earned their Eagle rank as well as his Scoutmaster, teachers and parents, helped him keep focused.

“The accomplishment looks good on college applications and resumes which is a big motivation right there,” he said. “It is an achievement that is highly respected.”

But Garret (Grass) also enjoyed his time in scouting, particularly the campouts, hanging out with guys, working on merit badges, cooking outdoors and playing typical outdoor games children so seldom have time for any more.

“Campouts and summer camp have been my favorite activities,” he said. “But the important thing about scouting is that it takes perseverance to achieve your goals, to live up to the ideals of scouting such as being brave, healthy, clean, reverent, courteous and kind, and it can develop character.”

“When people see Eagle Scout on a resume or college application, they realize it was not just natural ability that got the boy through that particular challenge but his work ethic and years of dedication to the goal.”

Both Wanda and David Grass could not be more proud of their son’s accomplishment.

“We’re could not be prouder of Garret; he’s done the work, put out a good effort and his Scoutmaster thinks very highly of him,” Wanda Grass said. “Bob (Monahan) told us that Garret has been one of his best senior patrol leaders and he said Garret really looks after the younger boys who are bridging over from Cub Scouts.”

Wanda Grass added that attending weekly Scout meetings has been a part of their family life since Garret became a Scout.

“Troop 160 is a family oriented group and the parents are very involved,” she said, adding that she and her husband David attend Monday night Scout meetings teaching teach merit badges and helping with projects.

“David and I are exuberant and know that this will follow Garret for the rest of his life.”

This proud mom had a hard time holding back tears as she had the privilege of placing the Eagle neckerchief on her son and when he in turn presented a special Eagle mother’s pin to his mother and an Eagle tie tack to his father.

Besides his parents, Grass was also glad to have his aunt Valerie McPherson, attend the ceremony as well as Deacon Julius Zimmer from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Folsom and friends Garrett Cannon, 15, and Marcus Garner, 15.